Former area standouts Lexie Hull, Courtney Vandersloot join star-studded Unrivaled 3x3 league
Former area standouts Lexie Hull (Central Valley) and Courtney Vandersloot (Gonzaga) will partake in women basketball’s newest high-profile endeavor.
Unrivaled, a new 3×3 winter basketball league co-founded by WNBA stars Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier, announced its rosters Wednesday, marking the latest step ahead of its first season beginning this January.
The league, which will tip off on Jan. 17, aims to keep players fresh and provide a domestic alternative to athletes looking to compete and supplement income during the WNBA offseason.
Unrivaled splits a pool of 34 players into six teams, with two teams having still-open wild card roster spots. To determine the rosters, players were organized into six pods — A through F — with each pod featuring guards, wings or bigs. The league’s six coaches then worked together to select one player from each pod, assigning them to one of the six clubs. The coaches set the rosters without knowing which team would be theirs to coach and worked to create well-rounded rosters.
Hull will play on Team Rose along with Las Vegas guard Chelsea Gray and Chicago forward Angel Reese among others. Vandersloot will team up with Stewart and Seattle guard Jewell Loyd.
Unrivaled features most of the WNBA’s top players. It promises to pay the highest average salary in women’s professional sports league history and will give equity in the league to its inaugural participants, enabling the athletes to profit from it for years to come. The league has a long list of high-powered investors, including Alex Morgan, Carmelo Anthony, Steve Nash, Megan Rapinoe and former ESPN and Turner presidents John Skipper and David Levy.
The rosters for the six teams
Vinyl (coached by Teresa Weatherspoon):
Arike Ogunbowale, guard, Dallas Wings
Rhyne Howard, wing, Atlanta Dream
Aliyah Boston, big, Indiana Fever
Jordin Canada, guard, Dream
Rae Burrell, wing, Los Angeles Sparks
Dearica Hamby, big, Sparks
Rose (coached by Nola Henry):
Chelsea Gray, guard, Las Vegas Aces
Kahleah Copper, wing, Phoenix Mercury
Angel Reese, forward, Chicago Sky
Brittney Sykes, guard, Washington Mystics
Lexie Hull, wing, Fever
Azurá Stevens, big, Sparks
Mist (coached by Phil Handy):
Jewell Loyd, guard, Seattle Storm
DiJonai Carrington, wing, Connecticut Sun
Stewart, big, New York Liberty
Courtney Vandersloot, guard, Liberty
Rickea Jackson, wing, Sparks
Aaliyah Edwards, big, Mystics
Lunar Owls (coached by DJ Sackmann):
Skylar Diggins-Smith, guard, Storm
Allisha Gray, wing, Dream
Collier, big, Minnesota Lynx
Natasha Cloud, guard, Mercury
Shakira Austin, big, Mystics
Wildcard
Phantom (coached by Adam Harrington):
Jackie Young, guard, Aces
Marina Mabrey, wing, Sun
Satou Sabally, big, Wings
Tiffany Hayes, guard, Aces
Brittney Griner, big, Mercury
Wildcard
Laces (coached by Andrew Wade):
Kelsey Plum, guard, Aces
Kayla McBride, wing, Lynx
Alyssa Thomas, big, Sun
Courtney Williams, guard, Lynx
Kate Martin, wing, Aces
Stefanie Dolson, big, Mystics